Raid at Hookah Parlours in Navi Mumbai: Three Shops Worth Rs 1.5 Crore Sealed in Khoprakhairane, Two Persons Booked

Three shops worth Rs 1.5 crore were sealed, and two persons were booked in a crackdown against hookah parlours in Navi Mumbai. On June 4, a cafe in Khoprakhairane was raided on a tip-off that it was providing hookahs, which are banned in Maharashtra, to patrons. A probe found that three shops were being used to operate the illegal business.

"Three shops worth Rs 1.5 crore were sealed under Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and two persons identified as Hemant Pandit and Nada Abdul Majid Zumani were booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COPTA)," Khoprakhairane police station senior inspector Audumbar Patil said.

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Earlier in March, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis came down heavily on hookah bars, saying people are consuming narcotics under the guise of smoking hookah. He had said that the state government will amend the law banning hookah parlours and make it stricter, and the licences of restaurants or cafes that sell hookah will be suspended.